Thinking of a 7mm rem mag Ruger no1 any for's and against calibre or rifle.
Cheers Steve.
Cheers Steve.
7mm rem mag
- Thread starter white van man
- Start date
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
Unless, IMHO, you've some sort of calibre size restriction (or a stash of a lot of cheap .284" bullets) it doesn't offer anything in the real world that the .30-06 won't do in the same rifle. Especially if the barrel is 24" or less. It depends on the range? Beyond 300 yards maybe?
In an ideal world there'd be a Ruger No1 in good rimmed medium bore cartridge, such as 7x65R or something like. Even .300 H & H Flanged. But at least in a falling block Ruger you won't have the potential feeding problems that some magazine rifles can be prone to. Nor one less in the magazine for the privilege of it all!
If it floats you bat go for it. But in my opinion under 24" barrel and 7mm RM doesn't offer any better performance than bog standard .30-06 does in the same barrel length. It might be 200fps faster with light bullets but I'd back a 180 .30-06 as being as effective in the real world as a 175 7mm Remington Magnum.
In an ideal world there'd be a Ruger No1 in good rimmed medium bore cartridge, such as 7x65R or something like. Even .300 H & H Flanged. But at least in a falling block Ruger you won't have the potential feeding problems that some magazine rifles can be prone to. Nor one less in the magazine for the privilege of it all!
If it floats you bat go for it. But in my opinion under 24" barrel and 7mm RM doesn't offer any better performance than bog standard .30-06 does in the same barrel length. It might be 200fps faster with light bullets but I'd back a 180 .30-06 as being as effective in the real world as a 175 7mm Remington Magnum.
Last edited:
Ive got a 7mm WSM at the moment and the recoil is pretty much like a .243 I would assume the rem mag is much the same. Both the rifle and calibre are itches I need to scratch.
Steve.
Essexsussex
Well-Known Member
Just been testing loads in my 7rm new acquisition. Haven't noticed the recoil being particularly stiff at all, but I was using with a mod. My usual shooters are 243 and 6.5x55. The 7rm didn't seem snappy or anything which I was expecting.
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
36 years mine has been working for me and no matter what they say a 30-06 is still a 30-06 and not a 7mm mag!
Depends what you're shooting at what range.
.284 in terms of BC is just about as good as you get. 30-06 much less so. A 7RM will start with about 300 ft LB more at the muzzle and because of the efficiency of the bullet will have 800 ftLb more energy than the 30-06 at 300 meters. The 30-06 is still carrying plenty to drop a red stag efficiently at 300 meters, but the 7RM will do the same job at 600 meters. If you really need to stretch out there the 7RM is a much better round.
However, felt recoil is much greater on the 7RM, even if the figures say ME is only 300 ftLb more. The 7RM is also a bit more fussy about the loads it likes, the 30-06 much less so.
If you are into long range shooting the 7RM, when given the time to tune it up properly, is a fantastic tool, but it's efficiency comes at a price in terms of time spent getting it just right and recoil. If you don't plan on going much further than 300 yds the 30-06 is probably a kinder and easier chambering to shoot.
Just my opinion, but I have played with a few of each, only in bolt action, never in falling block. I put 40 rounds through a 7RM in testing last Thursday, unmoderated, and you really can tell the difference between the two after a session like that.
.284 in terms of BC is just about as good as you get. 30-06 much less so. A 7RM will start with about 300 ft LB more at the muzzle and because of the efficiency of the bullet will have 800 ftLb more energy than the 30-06 at 300 meters. The 30-06 is still carrying plenty to drop a red stag efficiently at 300 meters, but the 7RM will do the same job at 600 meters. If you really need to stretch out there the 7RM is a much better round.
However, felt recoil is much greater on the 7RM, even if the figures say ME is only 300 ftLb more. The 7RM is also a bit more fussy about the loads it likes, the 30-06 much less so.
If you are into long range shooting the 7RM, when given the time to tune it up properly, is a fantastic tool, but it's efficiency comes at a price in terms of time spent getting it just right and recoil. If you don't plan on going much further than 300 yds the 30-06 is probably a kinder and easier chambering to shoot.
Just my opinion, but I have played with a few of each, only in bolt action, never in falling block. I put 40 rounds through a 7RM in testing last Thursday, unmoderated, and you really can tell the difference between the two after a session like that.
I don't regard the 7 RM as a massively uncomfortable cartridge at all, otherwise I wouldn't have owned one for the last 12 years. My recollection of the Ruger No 1 was that they are quite light, hence the comment about recoil
jon2
Well-Known Member
Yes I agree. I have forgotten the amount of times I've preached this point. It isn't in my opinion a "proper" magnum cartridge - more a +P version of a .280 Remington. This combined with typically a slow burning powder charge and it is more pleasant recoil wise than say a .30-06 (comparable bullet weights accepted). Even though you will only get perhaps another 150fps than a standard long action cartridge it is 150fps more and you don't feel any uncomfortable downsides recoil wise for the extra performance. I've had several over the years, one of which was a Stainless Sako 75 which I sold for no particular reason and regret but now have a custom based on a Stiller action which is a great open country rifle. A great cartridge which has a much maligned recoil reputation. Normally from folk who have little or no experience of it.
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
Ah. They say that God created the .270 Winchester. Well I think He then sat back and gave the matter another thirty years of thought as to how he could get it really, really perfect and then created the .280 Remington. I loved mine, especially as the cartridge, and myself, both saw light of day in the self same year...1957! And, yes, Jon, I regret selling mine too.
Last edited:
Shootgun
Well-Known Member
Spot on!
Essexsussex
Well-Known Member
Sorry srvet- I had forgotten that it was your recoil comments a while back encouraged me to get my 7rm (thank you). I understand what you mean now I have looked what the rifle is. I also think the heavy mod I have helps me a bit.
No offence intended.
Bill Wapiti
Well-Known Member
Are you planning putting a mod on it ? I loved my No 1 but it was heavy and the mod hindered it somewhat...
Without a mod a sweet shooting No 1 is great fun....go for it
Without a mod a sweet shooting No 1 is great fun....go for it
...and a few years later he created the 280AI. 7RM performance in a cartridge that was far more comfortable to shoot. I have owned both and still hang on to the 280AI.
No apology needed and no offence taken
Are you looking at a new or secondhand rifle?
I can't see the 7 mm RM listed on the current Ruger website, so assume you're considering either secondhand or a new, unsold, old stock?
Me and my mate have been looking seriously at single shots for a while now as woods guns cos we are a bit fed up with longer, noisier bolt actions in heavy cover, and neither of us particularly like the idea of a very short barrelled rifles. We want fast reasonably heavy projectiles in the 140-160 grain range and the 7 mm RM is a definite option. The No 1 is high on the list of considerations, but may have a hard time beating the Bergara BA13 due to the ridiculous cost of the No 1 over here. We are looking exclusively at secondhand models and have given three a good look over in recent months but in all cases they were in pretty poor condition.
Moreover, over here at least the No 1 has got a pretty stink reputation for poor accuracy. Having never tested one out thoroughly, I can't comment from personal experience on this. That said we are talking about using this rifle in heavy wooded country so range is highly unlikely to exceed 150 m, more likely 40 to 80m or thereabouts.
I do however have heaps of experience with the 7 mm RM in many different rifles, none of which I have actually owned personally. I love the cartridge and when I can justify having a more powerful bolt rifle than my .308 then it's a no-brainer, I will get one ( I need to be shooting over 500 m regularly to justify).
Ignore all the waffle about recoil, it's not that bad at all, and as with the smaller magnums e.g. .270WSM or 7mmWSM if you're only taking one maybe two shots in the field to achieve your objective you wont really notice it. It's a totally different ballgame to the .30 and up Win Mags and RUM.
As I say regularly to new shooters here, I don't support the use of magnums in lightweight bolt rifles. The two are a incongruous mix. But in a single shot for short range work where energy is all important it is okay in my book. There are a great many heavy calibre single shots in daily use in NZ primarily on pigs but also on woods deer.
I can't see the 7 mm RM listed on the current Ruger website, so assume you're considering either secondhand or a new, unsold, old stock?
Me and my mate have been looking seriously at single shots for a while now as woods guns cos we are a bit fed up with longer, noisier bolt actions in heavy cover, and neither of us particularly like the idea of a very short barrelled rifles. We want fast reasonably heavy projectiles in the 140-160 grain range and the 7 mm RM is a definite option. The No 1 is high on the list of considerations, but may have a hard time beating the Bergara BA13 due to the ridiculous cost of the No 1 over here. We are looking exclusively at secondhand models and have given three a good look over in recent months but in all cases they were in pretty poor condition.
Moreover, over here at least the No 1 has got a pretty stink reputation for poor accuracy. Having never tested one out thoroughly, I can't comment from personal experience on this. That said we are talking about using this rifle in heavy wooded country so range is highly unlikely to exceed 150 m, more likely 40 to 80m or thereabouts.
I do however have heaps of experience with the 7 mm RM in many different rifles, none of which I have actually owned personally. I love the cartridge and when I can justify having a more powerful bolt rifle than my .308 then it's a no-brainer, I will get one ( I need to be shooting over 500 m regularly to justify).
Ignore all the waffle about recoil, it's not that bad at all, and as with the smaller magnums e.g. .270WSM or 7mmWSM if you're only taking one maybe two shots in the field to achieve your objective you wont really notice it. It's a totally different ballgame to the .30 and up Win Mags and RUM.
As I say regularly to new shooters here, I don't support the use of magnums in lightweight bolt rifles. The two are a incongruous mix. But in a single shot for short range work where energy is all important it is okay in my book. There are a great many heavy calibre single shots in daily use in NZ primarily on pigs but also on woods deer.
Last edited:
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
Recoil?
I almost exclusively use 150 grain pills in my 7mm..recoil? 19 odd fp`s
The 30-06 standard pill is 180 grains..recoil ? 20 FP`s
Old Chuck has got it right.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
I almost exclusively use 150 grain pills in my 7mm..recoil? 19 odd fp`s
The 30-06 standard pill is 180 grains..recoil ? 20 FP`s
Old Chuck has got it right.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
He might have THAT time but some of the stuff he has written is "guff"!
Similar threads
